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Russia to Involve U.S. in Talks on Afghanistan
Russia is planning to involve the United States of America and Central Asian countries in a new peace dialogue which apparently aims to end the war in Afghanistan.
China and Russia have been concerned about the growing influence of Islamic State insurgency in the war-torn Afghanistan; therefore, the two countries are willing to play a role in Afghan diplomacy.
In December, Moscow hosted a meeting of high-level officials from Pakistan and China to discuss direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
There was no representative from Afghanistan in the first meeting which resulted in strong reaction by Kabul for being left out of the trilateral meeting.
Kabul reaction encouraged Moscow to invite representatives from Afghanistan, Iran, and India in the second round of meeting it hosted last month in Moscow.
The United States that is key player in Afghanistan was not invited in any of the two meetings.
Now Moscow says it will involve U.S. and Central Asia states in the third round of the dialogue.
“At its next stage we think it will be important to, in a timely fashion, involve in that same process our Central Asian partners as well as the United States,” said Vladimir Safronkov, the Russian deputy ambassador to the United Nations while addressing a U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, on Friday.
Russian foreign ministry have also announced that Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar will visit Moscow on March 17 for talks with the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“The officials will discuss the security situation and prospects for promoting national reconciliation in Afghanistan as well as ways to develop multilateral cooperation within the Moscow format of regional consultation on Afghanistan,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile, China envoy to U.N. has promised to cooperate with Afghanistan through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and through the Quadrilateral Coordination Group, as well as other regional processes.
Wu Haitao, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations who was speaking at the UN Security Council on Friday said that the international community must provide support to the Afghan forces to respond better to terrorism and must also steadfastly promote the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led national reconciliation process.
He also urged the international community to provide substantive assistance to help the Afghan government build up its capabilities.
This comes as earlier reports emerged about Russia support to the Taliban, but last week Afghanistan’s national security adviser who was speaking in an international conference in India said Russia must not use Taliban against the Islamic State.
Atmar emphasized that the best way to combat Islamic State militants is to cooperate with Kabul.
Reported by: Fahim Noori & Hesamuddin Hesam
Three road construction projects worth about one billion Afghanis started in capital Kabul on Saturday.
The projects were inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The projects are: the second phase of Kotal Khairkhane road, the first part of the Shahid square to Qasaba, and the Airport road to Gumruk.
In the inauguration ceremony, Mullah Baradar said that Kabul municipality is working hard to beautify and regulate the city, and people should cooperate with the government in protecting public benefit projects.
He directed the officials of Kabul municipality to complete the mentioned projects on time and with good quality.
The second phase of Kotel Khairkhaneh road is 2.5 kilometers long and 60 meters wide. Thie road will cost 364 million Afghanis and will be completed in 20 months.
The Shahid square-Qasaba road is 1.8 kilometers long and 45 meters wide, which will be built at a cost of 175 million Afghanis in one year.
The Airport-Gumruk road is 2.7 km long and 60 meters wide, which will be completed at a cost of 407 million Afghanis in 20 months.
The projects are funded by Kabul Municipality.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said on Friday that the main threat for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members emanates from Afghanistan where international terrorist groups find shelter due to unstable and indefinite political situation.
Speaking at a meeting of the SCO defense ministers in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, Shoygu said Washington has stepped up efforts to restore its positions in Central and South Asia that were lost after the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan, Anadolu Agency reported.
The military chief called “unacceptable” the deployment of the American military infrastructure in the region, arguing that intentions should be regarded as “a direct threat to stability in the SCO space.”
According to him, the US is trying to impose a new security system in the Asia-Pacific region for dominance.
This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly emphasized that it does not allow anyone to pose threats to any other country from Afghanistan soil.
Recently, Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan,
In a statement on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Mujahideen against the then communist government, the Islamic Emirate said that it is a day of freedom of the Afghan nation.
The Islamic Emirate described the coup by People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan on 27th April 1978 as a dark day in history, as a result of which the people of Afghanistan suffered severe human and financial losses.
The statement said that the Afghan nation suffered huge casualties in their 14-year struggle against the thoughts and actions of the communists, as 1.5 million people died and millions more faced various hardships.
“After 20 years of Jihad, our country was freed from another occupation and the Islamic system was established, so the Islamic Emirate will make its utmost efforts so that the fruits of decades of sacrifice and struggle of this nation are not wasted,” the statement said.
“It was the wish of the martyrs to fully implement the Islamic system in the country, and therefore, the Islamic Emirate is trying to facilitate development and prosperity under the shadow of the Islamic system in order to realize the goals of the Afghan people’s jihads,” it added.
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